Krystal's Reviews > The Book of Elsewhere

A disappointingly tough start, but I did end up really enjoying it.

The story, based on the graphic novel, BRZRKR, follows B/Unute - a man who cannot die. As a consequence, he's lived eons and is now being utilised by the military as something of a killing machine, and in return he's working with a doctor to try and discover more about who/what/WHY he is.

Now, the writing is immediately overblown. I've never read anything by China Mieville so this has put me off reading anything further; every sentence is work to read, using multiple words when one would suffice. I found it such a drag to read at the start, which was really disappointing because I've been hanging out for this book since it was announced.

Once I was about one hundred or so pages in, however, the story took over to a point where I noticed the writing less. There's a lot that's similar to the graphic novel, but there's an entirely separate story here, too, so fans of the graphic novel will find themselves learning more and appreciating the extra depth.

There's a great balance of action, story, and horror. Some perfectly creepy moments, and great gory scenes. Some softer moments are driven by character development, and it's fascinating trying to understand B and what he's been through and feeling as a consequence.

The writing plays with viewpoints and styles, with some parts told in second person, which was a little weird but something I adapted to okay eventually. It's a little jarring - especially with the convoluted writing style - but it does add an extra flavour to the story.

I think ultimately this was always going to be a fantastic, fun, hectic story, but the writing of it was too pretentious to allow the reader in fully. I can see that they've gone for different to make it more memorable; to make it stand out more and be more unique. Personally, I found it too much at the start but did enjoy it by the end.

I like that it was a little different, but being so different so soon will alienate a lot of readers, I feel, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea. I think fans of the graphic novel will eventually appreciate it if they persevere, but those unfamiliar with the story may discard it fairly quickly unless this particular writing style is something they enjoy.

For my part, the strangeness and depth of the story was enough to make me happy, and so I put up with, and eventually enjoyed, the writing.